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 Today is the 4th anniversary since I painted my first picture on March 17, 2003.
Instead of putting a new picture on the web site, as I did every year, this year I would like to write something and to slow down my steps to think of something more even though I had made a half draft on my painting board and wanted to complete it with Chinese Gong Bi Style or Gouache Style before March 17.
Since I came to Shenzhen on the New Year鈥檚 Day in 1992, in the first 10 years, I had been "climbing mountains" one by one in my career field -- before I had time to recall how I had climbed this one, I had to climb the next one -- Finally, I changed my own destiny and became a healthy and successful career woman with a doctoral degree, not only offered my only child a good education in China, but also send him to accept a better education in a Western country since he was 15 years old in 2002.
After experiencing being too much alone and having sad feeling after my only family left me, many things suddenly happened and made me almost breakdown in the same year. Anyway, I was lucky enough for I found music and art and started to make my childhood鈥檚 dreams to be true.
After starting to learn vocal music for 5 months, I painted my first picture March 17, 2003 and since then I always have been keeping on painting. In the later 4 years, about 1460 days, I have painted over 750 pictures -- 100 Gouache Pictures, 23 Chinese Gong Bi Pictures, 128 Chinese Xieyi Pictures and over 500 sketches of Baimiao.
So, on the special day on my art learning road, I would really like to appreciate my enlighten art and music teacher Mr. Charlie King, my Chinese art teacher Mr.Tao Hui, my vocal music teacher Ms. Ma Xuan and my piano teacher Ms. Xi Huiming. I do wish all of my teachers are happy, lucky and are proud of themselves as my teachers...
I do think that art of painting and music learning has helped me to live in a very peaceful and calm heart and emotion, to treat the world and the others with a wide, grateful and tolerant heart...
 Art learning takes me into the great nature, to feel the beauty of a mountain, a river, a flower and a fish, to discover the kind part of human being. To find, feel and express the beautiful parts in the world with my own colors, views and feelings...
Art leaning makes my own nature to be recovered, smiles are getting more and more, a grateful heart is getting more and more, tears are getting less and less, life quality is improved better and better...
Art learning helps me not seek fame and wealth, instead of spending my limited time to sell a picture as many friends suggestions or wishes. Instead of accepting a report by TV station, newspaper or magazine, I pay more attention to thinking and working on improve my art culture and skills... I am sure, I will show and sell my pictures some day, but, it is not today when I am still a beginner.
An interesting thing is, that I do have found, that art learning and art working is bringing me some philosophic thoughts. For example, when I am dealing with the middle colors, I often think of something about "golden mean". I do feel that a real person should keep a balance in his or her life and work and does not do something ultra. It is the same as painting, we can not just use the deepest color or the lightest colors, we have to find the balance among in the middle color part. From this meaning to speak, painting art has made me to feel the alive life and working art.
Also, art learning is making me to feel my own weakness every day, I have not really felt any picture of mine can be given 100 marks yet. I think I will not satisfy with my own picture forever, I would be a learner in the past, now and in the future...
As a creative work, art can not be learned 100% forever, art learning will accompany me forever.
 If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcome to publish your opinions in Forum For Friends as well.
Shirley
Written and Edited on Saturday, March 17, 2007
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